Chapter 715: The Charm of the Reformers

Emperor Yi Yue looked at Qin Mu again. Still, she couldn't see any sign of hardship on him; all she saw was this cheerful young man laughing heartily with several scholars.

"He is indeed a boy with exceptional charm," Emperor Yi Yue noted.

Emperor Yi Yue nodded. "He's not overly handsome, but he's incredibly charming. In fact, we don't even need to meet the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace; this disciple of the Great Celestial Master alone is enough for me to help Eternal Peace overcome this crisis."

"The Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace possesses a different kind of charm," the Woodcutter Saint said with a smile.

The Woodcutter Saint smiled. "When you meet him, you'll understand where his other kind of charm comes from. In fact, encountering the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace and Qin Mu suddenly reminded me of the arduous years when the Founding Emperor Era was just emerging. Founding Emperor, myself, and other like-minded individuals met amidst the desolate ruins of the High Emperor Era. At that time, the High Emperor's civilization had been completely annihilated, and we were all people struggling to survive in the ruins."

He fell into a reverie, his demeanor tranquil. He smiled faintly. "Who could have imagined that we, who were struggling in hardship and living hand-to-mouth, would establish a glorious Founding Emperor Era? Seeing the Imperial Preceptor, Qin Mu, and their friends, I couldn't help but think of my past self and those old friends."

Emperor Yi Yue fell silent. After a moment, she shook her head. "No need to dwell on the past. Let's go meet him then."

"Mu'er, let's continue our journey!" the First Ancestor called out loudly.

Qin Mu responded, ran over, and smiled. "I'd like to visit the Heavenly Saint Academy in Bazhou first. I have some matters to hand over to Granny Si there."

"Let's go to the Heavenly Saint Academy first," the Woodcutter said.

When they arrived at the Heavenly Saint Academy, the scene there was different from that at Yongjiang Academy. Yongjiang Academy was experimenting with creation techniques to cultivate medicinal herbs, providing a continuous supply of medicinal ingredients to various parts of Eternal Peace.

The academic atmosphere at the Heavenly Saint Academy was even more intense. Even before approaching, they could see all sorts of bizarre spirit weapons flying in the sky and running on the ground. Sometimes, those flying would suddenly plummet, trailing thick smoke, crashing into the ground and creating large craters, from which disheveled scholars would then crawl out.

Occasionally, spirit weapons running on the ground would suddenly explode, sending the flailing scholars controlling them flying into the air.

Some scholars gathered to test and modify various formations, which was also extremely dangerous, as the formations would frequently go out of control.

Some formations were sword arrays, with sword light scattering in all directions. Others imitated divine or demonic forms, and when out of control, divine or demonic energy would transform into these forms, relentlessly pursuing the formation operators.

A group of apothecaries and apprentices stood nearby, ready to frantically carry away the injured for treatment as soon as an incident subsided.

"I told you, calculation! Calculation!" an exasperated old Daoist yelled.

An exasperated old Daoist yelled at the scholars who were being carried away on stretchers after failed experiments: "Calculations must be precise, yet you never listen! If you don't listen, you'll be the only ones to suffer!"

"Today, we're going to create a divine-demon summoning formation," another middle-aged Imperial College instructor encouraged his students. "According to Qin's Spirit Energy Conservation Runes, we can summon a monster from Youdu."

On the other side, a middle-aged Imperial College instructor was gently encouraging his students: "Your teacher is right here; what danger could there be? Don't worry, don't worry... According to Qin's Spirit Energy Conservation Runes, we need to use some offerings for substitution. First, let's perform calculations to design an altar..."

"Teacher, Fifth Senior Brother has been captured by the monster!"

"Halt! Where do you think you're going, monster... Don't worry, Xiao Wu, don't worry, that was just a mistake, let's try again... Don't run, all of you come back! You can't escape your teacher's grasp—"

Emperor Yi Yue looked around, full of admiration. The atmosphere of the Heavenly Saint Academy gave her a long-lost feeling; she hadn't experienced this sense of vigorous ambition for a very long time.

She only felt this way when she was with Founding Emperor and the others, researching Daoist techniques and divine arts. She loved this feeling. Later, as she achieved fame and success and became increasingly busy, she gradually lost her enthusiasm for deep study.

Many scholars at the Heavenly Saint Academy were also creating various everyday spirit weapons, which led to numerous chaotic situations.

They passed by a large manufacturing plant near the academy. Inside, scholars were experimenting with more powerful alchemy furnaces, using them to create all sorts of bizarre everyday spirit weapons.

A scholar, driving a gigantic mechanical beast, rumbled past them. He adjusted the alchemy furnace's power, and suddenly, hundreds of sword pellets shot into the sky, forming a torrential sword rain. He had actually used the mechanical beast to amplify his vital qi, increasing the power of his divine arts by dozens of times.

The scholar was overjoyed and adjusted the alchemy furnace's power again. The mechanical beast's rear and four legs began spewing flames, and it shot into the sky. Not long after, a scream echoed from the sky, as the scholar and beast crashed into a mountaintop.

"Idiot, I've never seen anyone so stupid!"

A muffled, booming voice came. The Woodcutter Saint looked in the direction of the sound, seeing an old man sitting on a box, holding a jar with both hands, his face covering its mouth. He was speaking into the jar, his mouth full of various expletives, clearly articulated, and delivered at a rapid pace.

"It looks like Grandpa Mute!"

Qin Mu was delighted and quickly stepped forward, asking loudly, "Grandpa Mute, has your tongue grown back?"

The old man pulled his face out of the jar. Seeing the group, he quickly stood up, revealing a simple smile, and his hands rapidly gestured, making "Ah-ba, ah-ah-ba!" sounds.

"Grandpa Mute says his tongue hasn't grown back yet," Qin Mu translated Mute's sign language. "He also says he was rude just now and didn't notice the esteemed seniors."

Mute enthusiastically led them on a tour of the Heavenly Saint Academy's manufacturing plant, his hands gesturing animatedly as Qin Mu translated alongside him.

Everyone toured around, praising continuously, then left the manufacturing plant and walked towards the academy.

Mute watched them leave, his expression turning grim. With a slap, he smashed the jar to smithereens. "You know too many of my secrets, so I can't let you live..."

They entered the Heavenly Saint Academy, where the interior was even more bustling. Emperor Yi Yue sighed. "I finally understand why you support the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace and Emperor Yanfeng. It's not about power or strategy; it's about these young people. With these vibrant, energetic young people, you've made the firm decision to support them."

The Woodcutter Saint nodded. "We no longer have their youthful vigor and drive. We older generations only have our lives and lifelong skills. We can use our skills and our lives to buy them time, to let them grow. Founding Emperor didn't fight; we can fight on behalf of the Founding Emperor Era until Eternal Peace matures."

Emperor Yi Yue was stunned, then smiled bitterly. "I haven't fought for the Founding Emperor Era either..."

Qin Mu found Granny Si, who was teaching some scholars calculation arts. She had humbled herself, diligently studying alongside other scholars to make up for her deficiencies.

Dao Master Lin Xuan was teaching them calculation arts, with Xu Shenghua and his wife also listening. After all, Lin Xuan was a Dao Master and had also established a Dao Sect Academy, so his visit to lecture was for academic exchange.

After giving his lecture, he would invite experts from the Heavenly Saint Academy to teach at the Dao Sect Academy, compensating for its shortcomings.

"Cult Master Qin!"

Everyone hastily rose to greet him. Qin Mu returned the greeting and smiled. "No need to be so formal, everyone. I was just passing by and came to take a look. Dao Master Lin Xuan, I've written a scroll of the Taiwei Calculation Classic. Would you mind reviewing it for me and giving me your feedback?"

Dao Master Lin Xuan quickly took it and flipped through two pages. His expression became increasingly solemn as he said in a deep voice, "Microscopic calculations?"

Qin Mu nodded. "I derived the Taiwei Calculation Classic, and then used this classic to deduce the Great Dao of Heavenly Fire."

Dao Master Lin Xuan quickly flipped through it, exclaiming, "Cult Master Qin, this Taiwei Calculation Classic is capable of far more than just deducing the Great Dao of Heavenly Fire! You've created an entire system, and you didn't even realize it? If you continue to deduce based on this classic, who knows how many calculation divine arts will be created!"

Xu Shenghua quickly leaned forward, their heads bumping together as they read the Taiwei Calculation Classic. Their expressions grew increasingly solemn, clearly recognizing its importance.

"The Cult Master always creates a system and then just tosses it aside," Xu Shenghua said, shaking his head.

Xu Shenghua shook his head. "If you were to continue deriving based on this Taiwei Calculation Classic, you wouldn't just be a grandmaster of a generation; you could be called a Saint King!"

Qin Mu was puzzled and scratched his head. "Is it that important? I just felt that it's too tiring for one person to rack their brains; wouldn't it be better if everyone calculated together?"

Dao Master Lin Xuan composed himself, put away the Taiwei Calculation Classic, and said, "Brother Xu, this is a gift from Cult Master Qin to me. My Dao Sect Academy still needs to rely on this classic to establish its reputation and compete with other academies. You can't snatch it from me!"

Xu Shenghua sneered, "What a coincidence, I plan to establish a Heaven Academy, and I also lack something of my own."

The two stared at each other.

Qin Mu said, "Brother Xu, I'll write another copy for you later; there's no need to quarrel over such a small matter. I also have a course here that requires the Heavenly Saint Academy to research: the Primordial Magnetic Divine Art. I'd like to ask Granny Si to lead some scholars skilled in this area to focus on this direction."

Granny Si said in surprise, "Primordial Magnetic Divine Art? You mean terrestrial magnetic force? Mu'er wants to develop this divine art?"

"Not just terrestrial magnetic force," Qin Mu explained.

Qin Mu explained, "If it were just terrestrial magnetic force, that would be too simple. There's also primordial magnetism between the stars in the heavens. For example, when we landed on the alien star of the Chima remnant tribe, we found ourselves attracted by magnetic force, requiring us to resist the alien star's magnetic force to fly. This indicates that the primordial magnetism between stars is also extremely powerful. If it could be developed, it might become an exceptionally formidable divine art system."

Granny Si's eyes lit up. "My Great Luo Heaven Star Force Field is somewhat similar to the Primordial Magnetic Divine Art you mentioned. The most convenient place to research Primordial Magnetic Divine Art is where the Grand Emperor Heaven, Luofu Heaven, and the Great Ruins converge. The primordial magnetism there is complex and perfectly suited for research!"

Qin Mu secretly praised her intelligence and continued, "You've cultivated the Primordial Magnetic Divine Art from the Great Creation Demon Scripture, making you perfectly suited for this research. Researching Primordial Magnetic Divine Art also requires considerable skill in calculation arts. Granny, how has your proficiency in calculation arts improved lately? I carefully calculated the primordial magnetic field on the way and wrote down a few equations. See if you can understand them first."

Xu Shenghua's curiosity was piqued again, and he leaned closer. "Brother Qin, may I take a look?"

Qin Mu took out a few sheets of paper. Granny Si looked at them for a while, deciphering the meaning of the runes in the equations, and smiled. "I can barely understand them, but I'll need help from some skilled calculation masters."

Xu Shenghua also understood and praised, "The concept is ingenious. With your equations, we can deduce the prototypes of over a dozen basic primordial magnetic runes. Although still crude, having a direction means we can further develop the Primordial Magnetic Divine Art. Brother Qin, why don't you research it yourself? If you continue to research it, you might create an entirely new system of divine arts in the world, and the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth would change because of it!"

Qin Mu sighed. "Where would I find the time for all that? You all can create it, and I'll learn it."

Everyone's eyes widened.

This fellow clearly identified research directions and even created research methods. He could clearly achieve great things, even becoming a Saint King. Yet, he simply refused to continue the research, instead tossing these 'trivial' matters to them to complete.

"Brother Xu," Dao Master Lin Xuan said with a chuckle, "is your Heaven Academy planning to research the Taiwei Calculation Classic or the Primordial Magnetic Divine Art?"

Dao Master Lin Xuan chuckled, "You can't claim both directions, can you? You have to choose one path."

Xu Shenghua was torn.

Of the two directions, the Taiwei Calculation Classic was more important, promising greater achievements with continued research. The Primordial Magnetic Divine Art, on the other hand, could create a magnificent primordial magnetic divine art system from scratch. Although its achievements might not be as great as the Taiwei Calculation Classic, it was still significant, making it hard for him to choose.